Electric hat-curling iron.



J. L. OBRIEN.

PATENTED DEC. 17, 1907.

' ELECTRIC HAT GURLING IRON. APPLICATION FILED JULY 1. 1907.

I I I 7 WITNESSES Q as ' //v1 /vr0/? M 40% ATTORNEY i To all whom it may concern:

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELECTRIC HAT-CURLING IRON.-

Be it known that I, JosEPH L. OBRIEN, a citizen of. the United States, residing at .South-Norwalk, county of Fairfield, State of.

Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Electric Hat-Curling Iron, of which the following is a specification. V This invention relates more especially to the art of hatting, and has for its object to provide a sim 1e, light and relatively inexpensive shac e or iron for performing the operation of curling, which will avoid the objections to the various heavy and cumbersome tools heretofore used for this purpose and which will perform the operation of curling in an easier, quicker and more effective manner than has been possible with any curling iron heretofore roduceds It is, ofcourse, we understood that in curling the brims of both soft and stiif hats the brims are softened. by moistening them and are then shaped to a given design by shrinking the edge of the brim by means of heat and pressure. Heretofore, so far as I am aware the curling irons used in this art have been heated either by means of gas stoves or by means of heated slugs placed therein which has necessitated that the irons be. made cumbersome and heavy. In use, as soon as the iron was placed in contact with a hat brim saturated with cold water, the,

heat of the iron was quickly lost by abso tion and the efficiency of the 'iron greaty diminished, necessitating the application of another tool to complete the process, this second tool being a cumbrous shell weighing ten or twelve pounds. 4

My present invention enables me to rovide a simple and easily handled iron w 'ch is highlyrheatedand remains heated at just the point at which most heat is required,- and Y which enables the operator to complete the operation of curling ondary tool.

With this and other'objects in view the invention consists in certain constructions and in certain parts, im )rovements and combinations which will )e hereinafter described and then specifically pointed out in the claims hereunto appended. i

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevation of my novel curling iron as in use;-

without the use of a seca plan view of the'iron, the armsofthe han- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed July 1.1907. swarm. 381,715.

Patented. Dec. 17, 1907.

dle being in section on the line 33 in Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the intermediate section.

10 denotes the lower or working section, which is an elongated casting, one edge of which is a concave curve as at 11 and which is provided just back of the concave lower edge with a curved groove 12. This groove receives the edge of the hat brim to be operated upon, the edge of the brim being curved over a form, indicated by 13, lying in the groove, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The form is provided with attaching plates indicated by 14 having slots 15 and is adjustably secured in lace by means of screws 16 passing throug the slots and engaging an intermediate section indicated by 17. The lower section is provided with upwardly extending rods 18 which are threaded at their upper ends. In the present instance, in additlon to the lower and intermediate sections, I have shown the iron as com rising an upper section indicated by 19, t 's upper section, however, not being an essential feature of construction. Rods 18 pass throu h holes in sections 17 and 19 and throu h t e handle which is indicated as a whole y 20, the parts of the iron being secured together by nuts 21 enga ing the threaded upper ends of the rodsand earing upon the base of the handle, washers 22 being shown as interposed between the nuts and the handle. The handle comprises a base indicated spe-n cifically by 23, arms extending therefrom and indicated by 24 and a hand-piece of wood or other insulating material indicated by 25 which is secured tothe arms- In order to keep the u per section and the handle as cool as ossib e, I place a heat insulating layerof as estos or other suitable material,

are connected to binding posts 29. These so g 28 denotes the current wires which binding posts pass through. an extension of the intermediate; section, which. ls'indicated by- 30, are insulated therefrom "as at 33 and are coveredby a cap 31 whichis'secured to the extension by a screw 32. The intermeheating of the lower and intermediatevsections is effected by means of a continuous laminated resistance member slotted alternately from opposite edges superposed" in flattened coils and embedded in sheets of mica or other suitable electrical insulating and heat'coniducting material. The resistance member as a whole is indicated by 34,

1 laminae being continuous.

the slots by 35 and thesheet mica orother electrical insulating heat conducting mate rial by 36. The resistance member may be made from nickel steel, German silver or any suitable resistance material, and of any required length, and the ends of said strip are connected to the respective binding-posts. In the drawing (see Fig. 4), I have illustrated a form of resistance member consisting of four laminae. Suppose, .by way of illustration, that the current passes from one of the binding posts to the lamina indicated specifically by a. This lamina asses substantially the lengthof the sections and is bentupon itself and lamina 1) extends inthe opposite direction nearly to the other end of e sections, where it is bent upon itself, extends transversely across the sections and lamina '0 extends to the op osite end again and is then bent upon itsel andJamina d extend sto the other binding post, theseveral Laminae a and d are separated from section 17, and laminae'b and c are separated from section'lO by means of mica or other suitable electrical insulating heat conducting material and similar electrical insulating heat conducting material is interposed between laminae a and band between laminae band 11. q

" By using a resistance member consisting of superposed laminae or flattened coils, and embedding said laminae or flattenedcoils in sheet mica, or its equivalent, I am enabled to secure any require degree of heatin a minimum amount of space and to rovide a very small, light and easily handled toolthat'will perform its work in a much quicker and more effective manner than any tool of the character heretofore produced. In order to provide the, reatest amount of heat continuously at lie oint where most heat is required, I curve amina c outward to or a proximately to the edgeof the iron at t e center of groove 12, as, is clearly shown in Fig. 41

By soconstructing the iron that heat is continuously imparted to the lower section directly above the groove, the water in a hat brim being "operated upon is converted into steam and the brim is shrunk to form in an easier, quicker and more satisfactory man-' ner than has heretoforebeen possible It will, of course, be understood that the invention is not limited to the special details of construction illustrated in the drawing, but that these details may be greatly varied without departing from the principle. of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a tool of the character described, the v combination with a working section, of means for heating said section consistin of a laminated resistance member dispose adjacent to said working section, said resist ance member extending longitudinally of the working section and being bent upon itself and extending backward, then bent upon itself and extending transversely, then bent upon itself and extending longitudinally and ward and insulating material between the tween the resistance member and other portions of the iron. n p c 4 2. In a tool of the character described, the combination with a working section provided with a concave groove to receive a hat brim, of means for heating said section consistin of a laminated res stance member slotted alternately from'oppositev edges and extending longitudinally of the section in super- 'then bent upon itself and extending back:

laminae of the resistance member and be posed laminae, thentransversely and then longitudinally again in superposed laminae, one of said laminae being curved outward toward the center of the groove, substantially as described, for the purpose specified. 3,. A flattened resistance member consisting of continuous laminae of metal slotted alternately from o ptqsite sides, said member extending longitu ally being then bent upon itself and" extending longitudinally again, then transversely, then longitudinally and then lon 'tudinally again.

' 4. In a too of the character described, the

combination with a lower section having a concave groove to receive a hat brim, an intermedlate sectlon and a form for a hat brim lying in the groove and secured to the intermediate section, of a laminated resistance member slotted alternately from opposite edges for heatin the said sections and insulatlng material etweenthe laminae of the resistance member and ance member and the sections.

5. In a tool of thecharacter described, the

combination with a lower section, an intermediate section and'an upper section, of heat insulating material between the u per and intermediate sections, a laminate resistance member slotted alternately from opposite edges lying between the intermediate and lower sections, and electrical insulatingheat conducting material. between the lamibetween the resist.

nae of the resistance member and between the I resistance member mediate sections. v

6. In a tool of the character described, the combination with a lower section having rods and the lower and interextending therefrom, intermediate and upper sections and a handle having a base through which the rods extend, nuts engagand intermediate sections, a laminate ing the rods for securin the parts together;

conducting material between the laminae of the resistance member and between the resist-ance member and the lower and intermediate sections. 7 r

7. In a tool of the character described,'the

combination with lower, intermediate and upper sections, sald u per sect on having transverse rooves for t e purpose set forth,

and a hand e, of means for securing the sections and the handle together, heat insulat-i ing material between the u per and intermediate sections, a laminate resistance member slotted alternately from olpposite'edge's between the intermediate and ower sections and electrical insulating heat conducting ma terial between the laminae of the resistance member and between the resistance member and the lower and intermediate sections.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, 25

in presence of two Witnesses.

- JOSEPH L. OBRIEN.

Witnesses: I

JOHN (JA ANA'GH, PHILIP N. KN Pf. 

